Treasury Secretary Nominee Steven Mnuchin Supports Existing PTC Phaseout Plans

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During the confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin gave some hope to the US wind industry when he confirmed he was in favor of leaving the phaseout for the wind Production Tax Credit as it currently stands.

Given all the news that has come out from the Senate confirmation hearings into President Donald Trump’s nominees, it’s unsurprising that bits and pieces managed to pass under the radar. Thankfully, I caught on to a piece of news which bodes well for the US wind industry.

During his confirmation hearing, President Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, gave hope to the US wind industry that the current phaseout of the Production Tax Credit which has been such a boost to deployment over the last few years would remain as-is.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley raised the issue with Mnuchin:

“It will be important that adequate transition rules are included to provide a smooth transition for businesses that may be unpredictably negatively impacted. As we discussed, Congress has effectively put in place transition rules for some alternative energy, including wind.” 

Senator Grassley continued:

“The Production Tax Credit is currently scheduled to phase out over the next few years, ending in 2020. Based upon our conversation, I believe we are in agreement that you would support the current phaseout as part of any tax reform proposal.”

In reply, Steve Mnuchin said:

“On this point, I absolutely agree with you. We do need to have phaseout rules when we change things. I support the phaseout of that as you suggested.”

This is good news for the US wind industry, as it goes a long way to providing the confidence necessary for continued development and investment.

“Stable investment policy is critical to continue growing wind energy and the number of well-paying jobs it supports,” said David Ward, Director of Public Affairs for the American Wind Energy Association in a blog post.


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Joshua S Hill

I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.

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